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South Korea’s Sunshine Policy Dims

SEOUL, South Korea — The president-elect on Wednesday proposed eliminating a government agency that has long led efforts to build reconciliation with North Korea, but which he has accused of being too soft on the Communist government there.

There was no immediate response from North Korea, but analysts here said it was likely to react harshly, further complicating six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons programs.

The proposal by the president-elect, Lee Myung-bak, to abolish the Unification Ministry and have its duties taken over by the Foreign Ministry is subject to parliamentary approval.

Liberal lawmakers, who dominate Parliament and take great pride in the thawing they have long pursued between the Koreas, are expected to fight to save the ministry.

The issue of unification should be handled consistently with foreign policies, Mr. Lee’s transition team said Wednesday in a report on his plans to streamline the government.

The reorganization plans call for closing, merging or downgrading five ministries. Besides the Unification Ministry, they include the Ministries of Information and Communication, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Science and Technology, and Gender Equality and Family.

The election of Mr. Lee, a conservative, on Dec. 19 ended a decade of liberal government here. A former chief executive of Hyundai Construction and mayor of Seoul, he has vowed to run his government like an efficient business. He will be sworn in as president on Feb. 25.

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Signaling the ideological shift, Mr. Lee also called for abolishing government commissions that have investigated Korean collaborators during Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century and human rights abuses by past South Korean military dictators — investigations that have angered the conservatives.

A spokesman for the Unification Ministry declined to comment.

The ministry has been the focus of criticism throughout the administrations of the departing president, Roh Moo-hyun, and his predecessor, Kim Dae-jung.

The two leaders, promoting a so-called sunshine policy, brought about profoundly closer relations with the North, but they have been faulted for pouring aid across the border without managing to end North Korean nuclear weapons programs and human rights abuses.

Mr. Lee said Mr. Roh’s approach to North Korea had caused friction with the United States, a South Korean ally, and promised to work more closely with Washington in dealing with the North.

While absorbing the Unification Ministry into the Foreign Ministry, which represents Seoul in international talks on ending North Korean nuclear arms programs, would reflect Mr. Lee’s new approach, it appeared at odds with his announcement on Monday that he would continue to engage the North and be willing to meet with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il.

“What we see is a lack of coordination between pro-engagement forces and hard-liners within Lee’s camp,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a specialist on North Korea at the Sejong Institute.